


Modern AU Erejearmin Shorts

by corvuscore



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Blow Jobs, Coming Out, Drugs mention, Hand Jobs, M/M, Masturbation, Multi, OT3, Oral Sex, Sex Toys, Skype Sex, Snowballing, Threesome - M/M/M, tags will be added as more chapters are posted, thigh fucking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-15
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2018-12-02 13:17:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11510217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corvuscore/pseuds/corvuscore
Summary: Collection of short works featuring nurse-in-training Eren, tattoo-apprentice Jean and college-student Armin in a polyamorous relationship set in a modern setting. Posted in no order whatsoever.





	1. Ghost Hands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You seem uncomfortable.”
> 
> “I'm not!” Jean was quick to retort, but obviously, much too quickly and defensive. He blushed up to his ears, feeling his blood rush all the way to the wrong place for what they had planned. He groaned and ran his hand angrily through his hair again. “Fine, maybe a little. I’ve never done this kinda thing before.”
> 
> “It’s not much different than what we do at home,” Armin reassured. “We just happen to be on opposite sides of the continent. Remember when Eren made you watch? It’s just like that.”
> 
> ***
> 
> Jean/Armin. Armin is away on a research grant and wants to do something nice for his boyfriends, so he sets up a Skype call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter: masturbation, sex toys, skype sex

It was pretty safe to say that Jean was nervous already. Sitting in the dark behind his desk, as alone as he could be in his shared apartment, he watched the seconds tick to the rhythm of his drumming fingers. He thought vaguely that he should stop playing with his lip piercings before he got the call, but it was comforting, at least a little. He didn’t really know what else to do. What if he chickened out, or didn’t know what to do? What if Armin didn’t like it? Or, even worse, what if he made a fool of himself? He liked making Armin laugh, and he was pretty damn comfortable around him, but Christ, a man still had pride. His only consolation was that if it came down to it, he wouldn’t have Eren present to remind him every day for the rest of his life.

The familiar chime of an incoming call pulled him out of his spiralling. Armin’s icon appeared on his computer screen, and he couldn’t help but smile. He had been looking forward to this, despite his reservations. He accepted the call, and smiled even more widely when his boyfriend’s face came into view.

“Hey stranger,” Armin greeted him. Jean hadn’t realized until that moment how much he’d missed him. Gone only a week on a research grant to the west coast and it had already seemed a year. He looked healthier than the time he’d seen him last, and that warmed his heart. Armin’s laptop glare and breezy tank top showed he’d started developing a bit of a tan, giving him a warm glow the pictures he’d sent him so far hadn’t given justice to. It looked good on him, Jean thought.

“Hey yourself. How’s everything?”

“Good, everything’s good. Now I’m all set up, things should be going smooth. I’m getting pretty familiar around the lab.”

“Seems you haven’t been spending all your time down there,” Jean remarked teasingly, eyeing Armin up and down. “The weather’s agreeing with you.”

Armin chuckled and leaned forward a little bit on his crossed arms. His blond hair, nearly white in the pale glow of the computer and the darkness of his dorm room, framed his face and blocked nearly everything else out. “You checking me out?”

“Always.”

“Hmph. Charmer.” His eyes darted around the screen, as if looking for something. “Where’s Eren?”

Jean ran a tattooed hand through his hair. “He was called in for a shift. He whined all the way to the door. He was really looking forward to seeing you.”

Armin pouted. “If he bothered to open my Snaps he’d see more of me, but whatever.” His smile returned, and he took a conspiratorial tone. “What about you? Have you been looking forward to this?”

It was Jean’s turn to chuckle, but it was more nerves than anything. Had he? Yes, yes he had. He’d missed Armin every day he’d been gone. There was too much energy in their apartment, what with only him and Eren to fill the space. Their tempers needed a buffer, and Armin’s presence was always soothing. He’d missed cuddling with him, watching tv together, initiating sex with him only to stop because what he’d meant as sensual touches sent his ticklish boyfriend into fits of laughter. Yeah, he’d missed him a lot and had been eager to Skype with him. So why the hell was he so nervous about this?

It must have shown on his face, because the next words out of Armin’s mouth were: “You seem uncomfortable.”

“I'm not!” Jean was quick to retort, but obviously, much too quickly and defensive. He blushed up to his ears, feeling his blood rush all the way to the wrong place for what they had planned. He groaned and ran his hand angrily through his hair again. “Fine, maybe a little. I’ve never done this kinda thing before.”

“It’s not much different than what we do at home,” Armin reassured. “We just happen to be on opposite sides of the continent. Remember when Eren made you watch? It’s just like that.”

“I know, I know,” Jean said, leaning his forehead against his hand and looking away, trying to return to a natural shade. “I’m just… I guess I’m just afraid of embarrassing myself.”

Armin straightened up in his chair. “That’s surprising. You’re usually pretty confident.”

“I can read you when I can touch you. I can tell exactly what you want just by a twitch. When you’re this far, it’s…” he gestured with his hand aimlessly, grasping for the right word. “...impersonal. I don’t know what to do.”

There was a pause during which he kept purposefully looking away from Armin. His voice drew him back. “Tell you what,” Armin started. When Jean looked back at the screen, he saw him smiling warmly, comfortingly. “We don’t have to do anything. We can wait until I get home and then we’ll make up for all the time we missed. Or,” he added, here leaning forward and smirking into the camera, “you can let me do all the work. You don’t have to do or say a thing. To be honest, I’m really horny and I’d like you to watch.”

Jean didn’t believe his eyes could go any wider. Had he heard him right? Armin wanted him to sit there and watch him? He was still surprised at times when his youngest boyfriend suggested things like this. Not that he had no interest in sex, but he usually wasn’t as lewd and downright inappropriate as he and Eren sometimes were. But when he thought back on it, this whole thing _had_ been his idea. And now that he thought on it, this arrangement did suit him much more than him barking orders and talking dirty over a computer monitor.

When he got over his surprise he nodded to Armin, who responded with a broader smirk. Obviously he had been hoping for Jean to agree. “Alright, then,” he said, then got up, already pulling his shirt over his head.

“W-What should I do?” Jean found himself asking. Still not over his worries, it seemed. 

Armin shot him another reassuring smile as he tossed his top to the side. “Whatever you feel like doing. I don’t want you to do anything you’re not comfortable with. You can talk or stay quiet. Your pick.”

Jean nodded slightly, feeling a little bit numb from all the blood that had gone rushing down this time. Just watching Armin strip, it hit him full force just how long he’d been waiting to touch him again. Even in the dim light of Armin’s laptop screen he could pick out the faint tan lines his tank top had left. He ran his eyes all over this familiar body, taking in the sharp curves, the flat planes of his chest and stomach, the rosy nipples. He swallowed when he watched Armin sit on the edge of his bed and start pulling his pants down. He rocked back to slip them down past his bum and peeled them off slowly, revealing little by little his pale legs. Jean stared and swallowed harder when he realized Armin hadn’t even worn underwear, _the fuck_.

He must have noticed his expression, eyes glued to the screen, jaw slack, because Armin smirked back at him. “Enjoying the view?” he asked, hugging his legs close to his chest so most of him was hidden.

Jean cleared his throat, suddenly dry, and nodded. It was all Armin seemed to want from him, as his smile widened, as did his legs. He parted them slowly, baring himself to his boyfriend’s eyes. It had to be one of the most erotic sights he’d ever seen in his 24 years of life. Armin was no prude, but he came to his sexual desires in his own time, and that wasn’t nearly as often as for him or Eren. Maybe that was why Jean considered this such a treat. He watched with rapt attention as Armin spread his legs. He was hard, and if Jean wasn’t mistaken, leaking a little already. Jean looked further down, the position allowing him a glimpse of Armin’s ass. It was infuriating how close yet how far he was.

Armin slowly dropped on his back and kept his legs bent, knees in the air, feet down on the bed, and Jean nearly lost all self-control right there. Armin was completed exposed for his perusal, hard cock, smooth sack and tight ass all on display. He reached down and grasped his erection, stroking himself slowly, and it suddenly made Jean painfully aware that he was straining in his jeans. He quickly unbuttoned his fly, not for a second looking away from his screen, and sighed when he finally touched his dick. He matched Armin’s pace, slow, deliberate, teasing almost, but Jean couldn’t give less than a fuck right now. He took in every tiny detail: how Armin twisted his hand a little on the way up, how his breath started to pick up, how he seemed to arch his back slightly as the pressure built within him. He watched it all carefully, entranced, spellbound by this wisp of a tease. He responded to every movement, every sigh, every single thing Armin did, and positively _groaned_ when Armin finally let out his first real moan.

“Finger yourself.”

The thought was his, but Jean hadn’t realized he’d said it until he caught a glimpse of Armin’s smirking lips. The manipulative son of a bitch. Armin knew exactly what made him tick, how to get him riled up, how to get under his skin and play him like a puppet. It was almost sad to say, but he was entirely under his control, and he loved it.

Armin brought his fingers to his lips and sucked them in wantonly. He even arched his head back a little, and Jean imagined himself there, straddling his chest and pushing his cock down that willing throat. He could feel Armin’s soft lips closing around his shaft, his hot tongue lapping at the underside, his mouth sucking him further in. When Armin pulled his fingers out, the laptop light making them glisten wetly, Jean breathed a sigh of relief, because _tabarnak_ he was already so close to coming. He needed to slow down, and not let Armin toy with him so damn much. 

The fingers travelled down, finally resting near Armin’s exposed hole. Jean stared until his eyes felt dry, enraptured by the sight of the slender fingers circling that well-known hole, brushing against it, dipping tentatively. Slowly a first joint went in, followed by the rest of Armin’s finger, and Jean shuddered with him when Armin shivered from the sensation. A little needy moan went right to Jean’s cock. Despite the lack of tattoos on Armin’s fingers, it was easy to image they were his, prodding gently and sinking into his boyfriend’s welcoming heat, teasing him with barely enough stimulus, never going deep enough to be satisfying, withdrawing every so often to watch him squirm and whimper for more. More fingers joined the first and they started thrusting slowly, testing the waters, stretching Armin carefully. Never before had Jean wanted to be in California so badly. His whole body thrummed with his desire to be with Armin, to tease him until he was ready to let go, and to deny him so he would have no choice but to beg and plead for Jean to fuck him. He wanted to be there, between his legs, touching him the way he liked and kissing his whimpering lips. It was almost too much to bear. 

Armin was panting and moaning audibly by now. He was tense, the balls of his feet firmly planted and propping his legs up. It wouldn’t be long now, if Armin had a mind to come quickly. He was still stroking his cock and fingering himself with three fingers now, taking them in with ease and stretching himself further before Jean’s eyes. Had he been there, it would have been then that he would have taken them out one last time and replaced them with something larger. It seemed it was also what Armin had in mind, as after a few more thrusts, he slipped his fingers out, and reached for something under his pillow without skipping a beat. Jean watched, breath bated, wondering what else his boyfriend had in store.

He pulled out a bottle of lube and a dildo from his hiding place. Jean recognized the piece instantly, as well he should. It was an exact replica of his own cock, down to the veins and colour. It was thoughtful and hot all at once that Armin had elected to include him like this, down to this detail. 

Armin made quick work of coating the dildo in lube and resumed his previous position, giving Jean a perfect view of his ass. His hole was shuddering a little, as if waiting impatiently for something else to fill it up. Jean could barely contain himself. His erection was burning in his hand, but he wasn’t ready, not yet. He wanted more, _needed_ more, to see Armin use the replica and come from it. He wouldn’t let go until then.

While Armin was getting ready, he took in the image his boyfriend offered of himself, sprawled and spread like this for him. It was harder to see from this angle, but Jean believed he could see the blush on Armin’s face, neck and chest, his chest rising with his little pants. He was still hard, and a small pool of precum had formed on his belly where the head rested on his stomach, catching the light from the laptop screen. His hands were down near his ass, one holding the dildo firmly, the other spreading his cheeks. Jean wished he was closer, wished it was him.

As if he could read his thoughts, Armin paused before he brought the replica to press against him. He sat up and shot Jean a playful smile. He stood on wobbly legs and crossed the short distance to his desk to pick up his computer. Close like this, Jean could see just how disheveled Armin had become. His cheeks were bright red, his lips wet and swollen from biting on them, and his eyes brimming with lust. He had only a passing glance of his face, however, as Armin quickly brought the laptop back to his bed. He set it down at the foot of it, facing the headboard, and Jean wondered what the hell he was up to until Armin laid back down. On his back. In front of the laptop.

He was much, much closer like this. The light from the screen perfectly highlighted Armin’s crotch. He could see his sweat and spit reflecting the light, guiding down. The hands and dildo came back into view, fingers spreading Armin’s ass, toy pressed against his entrance with a barely discernible gasp. The glistening tip of the cock pressed harder against the resisting ring of muscle, slowly parting it, pushing, until the head finally sank in. Armin let slip a clear, loud moan this time, all lust and desire and _want_. Jean barely had time to take it all in that Armin kept going, pulling back a little to thrust it back in slowly, carefully, getting used to the size. Jean had never had the chance to observe their sex like this. Sometimes he’d glance down and get a pretty good view, but like this, everything was in perfect detail. He could almost feel Armin’s heat. He watched, and pictured himself doing all of this, thrusting slowly, sinking deeper every time, giving his boyfriend the time to adjust, until he was sliding in smoothly. 

Armin was back at stroking himself, finding a rhythm he could follow with both hands, and his moans increased in volume and frequency. Jean fucked his fist furiously, feeling Armin’s tightness, listening to his little desperate cries. It was him fucking him brutally like this, fast and hard just how he liked, reaching deep and making him moan loudly. He heard his name, panted at first, moaned and then cried, and that was it. He spilled himself all over his hand, the shudders in his arm mimicking the shudders taking over Armin as he too reached his limit. As intense as his orgasm was, he refused to let his eyes close, absorbing everything. Armin was clenching tightly around the toy, as if refusing to let go just yet, but his hand was already slacking around his spent cock. With what seemed like considerable effort, he gently pulled the dildo out and let it fall between his legs with a moan and deep sigh of relief.

Only then did Jean look away, assessing the damage. He found some tissue on his desk and wiped himself clean, giving his screen quick glances every so often. By the time he was done and had fixed his pants Armin had put the laptop next to him so that Jean could see him from the waist up. He painted a pretty picture, fucked out and panting still, stomach dappled in his own cum. Jean grinned and chuckled when Armin rolled his head to the side to look at him, smiling tiredly as well. 

“So, what’d you think?” he asked quietly.

Jean didn’t even have to think of his answer. “It was good. Really good. We’ll have to do it again.”

Armin chuckled as well and nodded tiredly. He reached for something on his nightstand that Jean couldn’t quite see, but soon found out was his phone. Armin took a picture of his himself and typed something before setting the phone down next to him on the bed carelessly.

“What was that?”

Armin looked back at Jean and smirked. “Sent Eren a Snap. Tell him he should check them more often.”


	2. Concussions Are Worth It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last place Jean figured he would meet the most beautiful woman in the world was when he was balls-deep inside his boyfriend. But, what do you know. Life’s funny like that.
> 
> ***
> 
> Eren/Jean/Armin. Jean learns not to provoke Eren’s family, or what happens when Mikasa walks in on Jean screwing her brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter: blowjobs/oral sex, snowballing.

The last place Jean figured he would meet the most beautiful woman in the world was when he was balls-deep inside his boyfriend. But, what do you know. Life’s funny like that.

The last thing he had also figured would happen to him upon meeting the most beautiful woman in the world was to get a swift kick to the face that would knock him out for a few minutes. There again, life had some surprises in store for him.

He’d come to learn later, as Eren explained as he handed him a bag of frozen peas, that Mikasa had her own keys to their place since he and Armin had moved in, and that, yeah, he hadn’t talked to her about him yet. But, hey, no time like the present, right? _Right. You could have said something before she beat my ass into next week._

He couldn’t really blame Eren for not mentioning him, though. He barely spoke about his sister at all, and Jean knew nearly squat about his family. Maybe his folks wouldn’t have been on board with the whole I’m-dating-two-guys thing. And really, he couldn’t get on a high horse here. He hadn’t mentioned him nor Armin to his mother either. 

But Mikasa seemed pretty alright, if you ignored the murderous intent and apathetic looks she threw his way. She was very beautiful, and intimidating. He couldn’t blame her for wanting to protect her brother. He could only imagine how it must have looked. For all she knew, Eren was dating Armin and no one else, so to see him with his face buried in the couch cushions and getting rammed by a complete stranger must have been quite the shock. He rather wished they’d had the chance to clarify the situation beforehand over lunch or something, but this would do.

Armin joined them later after his classes and got his own retelling of his and Mikasa’s first meeting. Jean had to give him props for not laughing, though it seemed a near thing once or twice. He guessed Armin’s concern for him won out in the end, since he doted on him the rest of the evening. Later that night, Eren suggested they go out for dinner so he and Mikasa could get properly acquainted. Honestly, Jean at this point would have prefered slipping into a coma than drag on this awkward as fuck interaction, but she _was_ Eren’s sister, and only in town for the night. Which, truth be told, was both a blessing and annoying as hell, as he couldn’t wait to end this, but it was also the only night this week that he, Eren and Armin’s schedules aligned, where none of them had to go to work or school. He doubted they’d have any energy left after they said goodbye to do anything just the three of them. 

In the end, they picked a sushi restaurant and exchanged some pleasantries over dinner. It became easier as the conversation took off to listen to her, Jean soon found. She was, after all, gorgeous, if a bit cold, and had a certain mystery about her. Turns out, Mikasa was actually pretty cool. She worked in a group home with orphaned kids and taught martial arts on the side, which came as no surprise if Jean could judge by the swelling of his head. He didn’t dare ask, as he assumed it would have been impolite to bring up the “you’re Asian, he’s German and Turkish” thing, (though he reckoned he was due a bit of rudeness since she _had_ knocked him out seconds after meeting him), but eventually learned how she came into Eren’s family. She’d been kidnapped as a kid, and Eren was the one to have found her. He’d spotted the van described in the Amber Alert and had followed it all across town on his bike. She came to live with the Jaegers after that. He understood now why she was so close to him, and felt like a dick for having disliked her for being so protective in the beginning. But just a little, because his head still hurt, dammit.

They grabbed some gelato and sat in a park after dinner, Mikasa, Eren and Armin retelling funny memories from their shared childhood. His boyfriends made sure to include plenty of anecdotes featuring him as well, which made Jean smile and open up some more to Mikasa when she asked for his version of the facts. He talked some about growing up in his small town, about his failed foray into business school, about his apprenticeship at the tattoo parlour, about meeting Eren and Armin, and by the end of the evening, felt pretty comfortable around her. So comfortable that he hugged her as they all said goodbye at the train station. With her arms wrapped around him, he was reminded just how strong she really was, and that he’d do well to never fuck with her again, lest he wanted a repeat performance of that afternoon.

Back in their apartment, he dragged his feet to the couch and dropped on it like a rock, covering his eyes with his arm. His head was pounding by then, but Armin had checked, and despite it having been a pretty big blow, he wasn’t concussed or anything. At that point he just wanted the night to be over, but he doubted he’d be able to get some sleep right away. Some night off.

“So, yeah. That was my sister.” Eren sounded a bit nervous, slightly apologetic, but also strangely resigned, like he’d fucking known something like that would have happened. “What’d you think?”

“That if I ever hurt you in any way I better change identities or I’m gonna be a dead man.”

“Exaggerated, but fair.”

“Hmph.” Jean removed his arm when he felt pills being dropped in his palm. He thanked Armin and washed them down with a sip of water. God he hoped these worked fast.

Eren sat next to him and took his hand before he could fling it over his face again. “Listen, I’m sorry she attacked you like that. She was just trying to protect me. I would have told her what was going on, but, you know.”

Jean couldn’t help a small smile when he remembered the exact circumstances of his first impression to Mikasa. “It would have been pretty hard for you to see her walk in with your face in the cushions like that. I get it, man. I’m just glad we cleared it up. I wouldn’t want her to leave here thinking I’m some kind of homewrecker or whatever.”

It was Eren’s turn to smile at that. “Yeah, no, that’s definitely not up for debate,” he said, shaking his head a little. “She’d never let me live it down either if that was the case. She cares a lot for Armin too and she’d kick my ass if I treated him like that.”

“Good,” Armin said from the kitchen.

Eren grinned and turned his attention back on Jean. He gestured to his lump with his chin. “How’s the head? Swollen as always?”

Jean sniffed and reached up to rub the swollen spot, closing his eyes to get a better feel for the edges. “Ass. It’s sore, but I’ll live.”

“Good. Now that we’re back I can finally make it up to you.”

“Huh?” Jean looked down to find Eren unbuttoning his jeans. By the time his brain sent the message down to his limbs to react, Eren had already taken his cock out and started stroking it, and by then it was much too late for him to ask to stop. He groaned and closed his eyes again, letting Eren take care of everything. “That your idea of an apology for getting me knocked out by your sister?”

“You want the fucking blowjob or not?”

He did, damn him. He’d wanted to touch Eren since they’d been interrupted earlier that afternoon. He groaned but let Eren do as he pleased. His lack of abrasive response seemed to do the trick, as Eren resumed his actions. Jean could picture him, face inches from his crotch, wearing that shit-eating grin he had when it was his turn to be in charge. Asshole.

He did have some redeeming qualities, though, one of which being his blowjobs. Jean had no clue how that mouth could both irritate him so fucking much and make him cum under two minutes. It had to be a gift, or otherwise a lot of practice on Armin. There was something about that guy’s technique that never failed to get a rise out of Jean.

Just now Eren had started moving down on the tip of his cock. Heavy touches, right from the beginning, all lips and tongue and hot breath and no subtlety. Jean hissed and covered his eyes with his arm again, reaching down with the other to grab a fistful of Eren’s messy brown hair. It was a pretty damn clear message, and Eren delivered. Immediately he sucked him in, focusing on the sensitive head like he had a mind to make Jean cum just from that, and fuck it but he thought he just might if he didn’t slow down. Eren gave some damn good blowjobs.

Jean felt a presence next to him, and shivered when a thumb trailed the lightest touches along his bottom lip. “You guys really have a knack for getting walked in on,” Armin whispered, much closer than Jean had thought. His face was right next to his, warm breath grazing his cheek. Jean pulled his arm away from his face so he could look at him. He was kneeling next to him, watching Eren swallowing more and more of his cock down with a growing blush and smile on his face.

Jean grabbed him by the back of the neck and kissed him, hard. “You wouldn’t be walking in on us if you’d joined us from the start,” he chastised, near breathless already. Eren hadn’t slowed down at all. If anything he had picked up the pace. He was bobbing his head, taking more of him in as he moved down, until he d paused to catch his breath, and return his attention to the flushed head of Jean’s cock. Jean shuddered and moaned when Eren did just that, swiping his tongue underneath and licking at his slit on the way up. Jean realized he didn’t have a word left in his head for Armin. Eren was sucking all sense out of him.

A giggle against his lips. “I was getting you more ice, but it looks like you’ve found something better,” Armin whispered back. He seemed far away. Jean knew Armin was close, he could feel him pressed against his side, and he was holding him by the neck, but all of his thoughts were on Eren, and Eren’s mouth, and Eren’s lips, and Eren’s tongue. Maybe he was a little concussed after all.

He tightened his hold on Eren’s hair, and Eren plunged back down, this time taking him as close to the base as his mouth would permit. Jean hissed and moaned and thrust up to meet his mouth, forcing himself further down Eren’s welcoming heat. As it all happened he pulled Armin closer, crashing his lips against his until nothing but moans could fit between them. Not long, now. He was getting closer by the second, he could feel his stomach tighten, ready to uncoil at a moment’s notice, just waiting for Eren to give the go-ahead with his skilled mouth. He kept thrusting up, and Eren took it, barely choking, telling him _yes, please, more._ With hardly a warning he let go, and Eren took it, taking as much as he could until it was too much and cum slipped past his swollen lips. 

Jean felt so good he felt numb, so numb he let go of his boyfriends without even noticing. Armin gave him a light chaste kiss as he withdrew to give him time to recover. Eren pulled back and let his cock fall against his stomach, that shit-eating grin back and accentuated by the cum running down his chin. Jean could see it now, as he had managed to open his eyes again and look down at him. He watched as Armin pulled Eren’s face to his and kissed him, gently at first, then harder as Eren responded. When they separated, a thin string of cum and saliva connected their lips, and Jean was just about ready to go again from the sight alone. Armin kissed Eren some more until he was positive he’d gotten him rid of it all, before bending down to Jean’s crotch.

If Eren gave great blowjobs, Armin wasn’t far behind. Their methods couldn’t have been more different. Armin definitely played up his virginal looks and general coy demeanour whenever he had the chance, as he knew Jean appreciated the disparity between him and Eren. With them, he had the best of both worlds. He was all soft touches where Eren was hard and fiery, giving light kisses and tonguing at the slit like he was a treat to be savoured. Jean groaned and reined himself him so he wouldn’t force Armin’s face down further against his dick. He knew he didn’t have the energy for more, but fuck, when he met those bright blue eyes, looking up at him from down there, he wanted nothing more than to see them fill up with tears as he filled his throat with cock. But no, Armin was doing this to him as a favour, lapping up his cum and licking him clean like it was his duty never to let him use a damn tissue. When he was done, he sat up and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, eyes shining with mischief. 

Jean managed a weak smirk at the two. He figured that if this was the outcome, maybe he should piss Mikasa off a little some other time.


	3. Sleep and Other Pastimes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armin felt it would be much easier now to find sleep. It was always easier with the two of them there, bracketing him like some precious thing to keep safe. He closed his eyes and settled down comfortably, intent on finally getting some rest. 
> 
> Which would have been easily done if not for Eren’s erection pressing against his ass. 
> 
> ***
> 
> Eren/Jean/Armin. No matter how hard he tries, Armin can’t get to sleep. Maybe he’ll have better luck once everyone’s settled down for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter: threesome, thigh fucking, handjobs

Armin was lying awake in bed, wishing he’d get to fucking sleep already. He was currently nestled comfortably among the heavy blankets and many pillows, curled up around his octopus plush toy. His grandpa had given it to him on his first trip to the aquarium. It had always been easier for him to fall asleep with it, but tonight it seemed that sleep was eluding him, try as he might. He’d spent most of the week finishing an important lab report and had just submitted it a few hours ago. The exhaustion and relief alone should have been sufficient to knock him out as soon as he laid down, but despite how mentally drained and bone-tired he felt, sleep wouldn’t come.

He opened his eyes slowly, giving the room a bleary examination. Everything was dark, except the bright light to his left. Jean was sitting in bed next to him, reading something on his laptop. A familiar sight. Armin never understood how Jean could get enough rest with only four hours of sleep each night, but somehow, the man always seemed refreshed come morning. Must have been all the damn coffee he drank. Sometimes, Armin would wake up in the middle of the night and see him there, reading on his phone, or simply staring at the ceiling. Jean would notice he was awake and smile, bend down to kiss Armin lightly and hush him back to sleep. So to find him there was no great surprise. 

What also came as no great shock was Eren’s absence. Of the three of them, he certainly had the most hectic schedule. He joked often that his unpredictable shifts were preparing them for his future nursing career, for days when he’d be gone for long stretches of time, saving lives and kissing booboos and all, only to come home exhausted and in serious need of foot massages. Armin could already picture it, and figured it couldn’t be much different than what they were used to now, with him often leaving last minute and coming back well past midnight. There was always something reassuring to Armin in going to bed alone, and waking up with Eren’s arms wound loosely around him, his hot breath grazing the top of his head. But no such luck tonight.

Armin rubbed the sleep from his eyes with his fist. He wished he’d fall asleep already. “What time is it?” he asked Jean quietly.

“Two and a quarter.”

Armin smiled at the mistranslation. It was endearingly cute how often it happened, even though Jean had been living in the mainly English-speaking city for years. He scooted closer to him, the better to snuggle against him. “Quarter past two,” he corrected.

With his face pressed against Jean’s hip, he couldn’t see his expression, but he gathered from his snort and his hand in his hair that he took the teasing lightly. “Fine, quarter past two, smartass.”

“How do you say ‘smartass’ in French?”

“ _‘Trou d’cul’._ ”

“That doesn’t sound right,” Armin said groggily, brows furrowed. He racked his foggy brain for the right words. “Doesn’t that mean ‘asshole’?”

“You heard me talking about my boss the other day, eh?”

“I’m picking up some words here and there. That one you yelled pretty angrily.”

Jean played with his hair some more, running his fingers through the blond strands lovingly. “Huh. I’m gonna have to watch my language around you, or you’ll learn all my best insults.”

They fell in a comfortable silence for a while, Armin with his eyes closed and hoping for sleep to come, Jean petting his hair and browsing on his laptop. After a few more sleepless minutes Armin spoke up again. “When’s Eren coming home?”

Jean took his phone from the nearby nightstand and checked his messages. “He texted me about twenty minutes ago saying he was on his way. Shouldn’t be long, now.”

As if on cue, the front door opened with a rattle of keys, the signature dragging of feet and the familiar half-whispered mumbling. Armin looked over his shoulder to see Eren walking in, already removing his scrubs and letting them fall wherever, till he had nothing left on but his boxers. He joined the two by basically falling into place, wriggling under the covers till he was flush against Armin’s back.

“Long day?” Jean asked as he shut his laptop and set it down on the floor.

Eren replied with a long drawn-out groan better suited to a zombie than a 21 year old PSW. As if to confirm he wanted nothing more than to slip into sweet, sweet oblivion, he pulled Armin closer and nuzzled his neck. At that, Armin smiled and leaned back into the gentle hold, sliding his legs between Eren’s to be that much closer with him. Jean laid his arm above his head and kissed his forehead lightly, and Armin felt it would be much easier now to find sleep. It was always easier with the two of them there, bracketing him like some precious thing to keep safe. He closed his eyes and settled down comfortably, intent on finally getting some rest.

Which would have been easily done if not for Eren’s erection pressing against his ass.

“Eren,” he whined, because _of course_ it couldn’t be as simple as the three of them laying down and sleeping in a heap as always on this bastard of a night.

“Sorry,” Eren mumbled back, and by the sound of it, not sorry in the least. He tightened his hold around Armin’s waist, which did nothing to help their current situation. “‘Can’t help it.”

“What’s up?” Jean asked, oblivious to the whole thing.

Armin sighed. “Eren’s dick is what’s up.”

“I said sorry.”

“How can you be this tired and hard?”

“I dunno. It’s not an executive decision,” Eren grumbled, sounding a bit annoyed now for being called out. “If either of you wanna rub it a little it’s gonna go down faster. Just sayin’.”

“For fuck’s sake,” Armin swore. He was reaching the limit of his patience, already wearing thin because of the lack of sleep. He needed to come up with a solution, or he’d spend the night with Eren’s dick poking his back. Eren hugged his midsection in a show of apology, and he relented with another exasperated sigh. “Just hump me or something, see if that does it.” 

The roguish grin he felt Eren press against the nape of his neck sent twin shudders of irritation and excitement down his spine. Though, he had to admit, it was more of the latter than the former, and in the end, Eren’s antics only brought a resigned smile to his face. For all his sheer dumbfuckery, there was no staying mad at him.

Eren dropped kisses on his neck and shoulders, somehow finding little hidden spots that aroused him further. He should have been too tired for this, but it seemed his body had other plans than sleep for him. Eren’s hand moved lazily over his body, taking its sweet time as if the plan wasn’t to get this over with as soon as possible. It probably would have been annoying if Armin could get annoyed with Eren, but as the years had made clear, that didn’t seem possible. Besides, his kisses and touches were warming him up nicely.

Eren slid his hand ever so carefully under Armin’s shirt and tested the waters there. He found Armin perfectly amenable, more so than either of them had anticipated. Seemingly emboldened by how far he’d gotten so far with hardly anything of what they’d agreed on, Eren carried on, grazing his boyfriend’s stomach and sides. Armin couldn’t help a smile. For all the times Eren was hot and intense in bed, he was treating him with all the care in the world, as if worried he’d break him or make him change his mind with the wrong touch. Or that was the exhaustion talking. Nonetheless, Armin found the contrast amusing. He let Eren fondle him some more and enjoyed his little attentions. While ordinarily he would have been uncomfortable with all the care his stomach was receiving, that night he was especially pleased when Eren felt him up slowly and took the time to appreciate the few curves he’d gained.

Eventually satisfied with his exploration of Armin’s belly, Eren followed the dip down lower. _Finally_ , Armin thought, and not just because he was looking forward to getting some shuteye. As Eren reached lower, Armin arched a bit away from his seeking fingers, and with a gasp found Eren firm behind him, hips pressed forward against his own. There was nowhere for him to go. By that time he’d started sporting an erection of his own, the tip just poking out of his briefs, and Eren was quick to find it. Armin gasped quietly at that first heated contact, his hips jerking a little straight into Eren’s. Armin could feel the shape of his boyfriend’s hard cock fit snugly along the cleft of his ass. Whichever way he looked at this, front or back, his underwear was in the way. He reached down and without hesitation slipped his briefs lower till they were at his knees and out of the way for their purpose. That was when he noticed Eren had also gotten rid of his boxers Armin-didn’t-know-when, and if the feeling of his bare ass against that hot cock wasn’t the best feeling in the world right now, he didn’t know what was.

Actually, he did. It was the additional feeling of Jean’s hand squeezing at his hip while Eren rocked his own steadily against his ass. He looked up, realizing he hadn’t opened his eyes since the start. Saw Jean closer than he’d been before, eyes dark with want but looking down. Armin followed his gaze and found his octopus doll, which he’d been holding against his chest the whole time.

“Sorry,” he mumbled hastily as he threw his plush toy at the foot of the bed, knowing it would get lost among the kicked blankets, and not caring in the least. Hands free, he reached up to pull Jean’s face closer to his. “Sorry,” he whispered again, this time more loudly and breathily since Eren had started grinding in earnest against him. His next “sorry” was swallowed up in a kiss, heated and forgiving.

Jean fit against them like the missing piece to a puzzle. Now Armin was well and truly trapped, but he wasn’t looking to back out. If anything, he wanted the space between them to shrink even more. His hands were pulling Jean closer into the kiss, thumbs brushing his cheekbones, fingers going up and pulling his short tawny hair, lips drawing him inwards with all the energy his sleep-deprived state could muster. Jean was responding in kind, the hand at Armin’s hip squeezing and moving down until it replaced Eren’s, and then it was squeezing again in such a delightful way it wrung moans from Armin’s kiss-swollen lips.

Eren had never been one to stay still. He held Armin close the better to rock his hips against his ass and kiss hickeys on the back of his shoulder. Jean, for his part, pulled down his pyjama bottoms and closed his fist around his and Armin’s erections with a pleased sigh. Eren and Jean’s free hands met, somewhere above Armin’s head, fingers tangled in his hair. Armin, usually considered the smarter of the three, could think of no ways to defend himself against this sort of concerted attack. Even after months of having invited Jean to his and Eren’s bed for the first time, Armin found they still thoroughly enjoyed ganging up on him. It was almost too much with Jean’s hand pumping him and Eren’s cock sliding against his ass, with Jean’s lips controlling his own and Eren’s leaving territorial marks on his back. This was no longer about getting Eren off quickly. They were both paying him the most attention, riling him up, teasing him to his limits. A whimper escaped Armin at the realization, which only spurred the other two on.

Armin felt Eren reach down again, groping his way down his side to his ass, to his thigh. Eren was lifting it slightly, trying not to upset the setup, still grinding, still sending shivers of want up Armin’s lower back. It took a while for Armin to process what was happening, distracted as he was. He shuddered when Eren let his cock slide down, even more so when the tip brushed his entrance on the way. He hoped Eren wasn’t planning on fucking him, because he was _not_ in a waiting mood. He didn’t have it in him to wait to get slicked and stretched and ready. He wanted more _now_. Armin waited with bated breath. Finally he felt Eren’s cock brush against his privates and slide between his parted legs and suddenly he was thrusting, fucking his thighs at a brutal pace. Armin blushed ten shades redder. Each jolt pushed him further forward into the circle of Jean’s hand, made tight and hot and thrilling by the presence of his own erection sliding along his. The obscene smack of skin slapping against skin made this all the more real and intense and _God, I’m getting close._

Eren was breathing hard in his neck and Jean was grunting against his lips and Armin was moaning between them, a captive to their touches. He grabbed Eren’s rutting hip and joined Jean’s hand at their weeping cocks, wanting to feel some kind of control over his situation. His lovers were good at indulging him, even if he knew it was only the illusion of control they granted. They picked up the pace, fucking against him from both sides, and Armin was sure he was gonna melt right there. The combination of simply everything was getting too much to bear. He was tensing in anticipation of his climax, his release building and making him more needy and desperate. His whimpers of want were muffled by Jean’s lips, as were any warnings he might have given. He came with his hips stuttering, incapable of following the harsh pace any longer, and with little cries of relief silenced by Jean’s pleased moans. 

Even if he came, there was no respite yet for him. Eren pulled him back into his thrusts until he exploded between his thighs. Jean didn’t release him yet either, only letting go once his cum mixed with Armin’s own on his hand. Both covered him in tired, thankful kisses that he was too weary and flustered to return.

In the end, it was Jean who got out of bed to fetch a towel to clean everyone up with, as he was the only one with enough energy left to get anything done. He patiently wiped the cum off Armin, Eren, then himself before joining them in bed again. They all immediately resumed their former position, with Jean facing Armin, and Eren hugging Armin tightly from behind. Armin snuggled comfortably between them, spent and sated, and finally exhausted enough to get some damn well-deserved sleep.


	4. Y Sont Pas Mes Amis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Well, hold on. The wedding might be a good time to show ‘em you did some growing up since moving here. You got a job and a future career all lined up, the only drugs you’re on are caffeine and weed, you’re in a good relationship---”
> 
> “Yeeaahh, see, that’s the other thing.” Jean started playing with his lip rings. Eren had picked up his nervous tells by now, and that one was never a good sign. “Actually, the main thing, really. I, uh, kind of didn’t mention that. You. I didn’t mention you, to my mom. She doesn’t know I’m dating you and Armin.”
> 
>  ***  
> Eren/Jean/Armin. Jean has to go to a family function but feels like he can’t keep his relationship a secret from his mother anymore. He should tell her before he goes to the wedding, right? Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter: coming out, drugs mention
> 
> Hello everyone! I’m back from the grave, though I can’t say for how long. Thank you to everyone who has been patiently waiting for an update. This one is a bit different from the others. I feel like I've rushed through this one and it's not as good as I'd hoped it'd turn out to be, but I gotta learn to say "fuck it, good enough" and put out some damn chapters. Also, I'd say it's different because there's no smut in this chapter, for one. Secondly, it's a bit emotional. And finally, it’s completely self-indulgent. Over the course of writing this project, I’ve really started projecting on Jean, which I never really expected (I see myself more in Armin, tbh). The translation to all the slang-y French bits is at the end (please note that this is also very French-Canadian, specifically Franco-Ontarian and Quebecker French, so don't try to look up some of this stuff in a dictionary). There’s a lot, so I would definitely suggest you copy/paste the translation into a separate document and read as you go through the chapter. This is my first time including so much of a second language into a fic, so please tell me what you think!

Now, Jean had been in his and Armin’s life for some time, and Eren figured he’d have picked up more French around him than he actually had. Of course, he knew the odd phrase (“ _ta yeule, Eren_ ”1) and a handful of words ( _“oui”, “non”, “encore”, “arrête pas”_ 2), and could even detect some swear words here and there, even if French swearing made no goddamn sense. Jean had told him before you could just string a whole bunch of curse words together and they compounded into this long ass chain of profanity, but that seemed hard to believe. Mostly, Eren relied on Jean’s tone and the frequency of words he used to figure out what was swearing and what wasn’t. And by the sound of it, Jean swore a whole lot when he spoke with his mom on the phone.

“ _Tabarnak, c’est pas la fin du monde si j’y va pas, M’man! J’ai connais quasiment pas… J’m’en câlisse que c’est tes deuxièmes cousins d’la fesse gauche, j’ai connais pas plus! Ils l’remarqueront même pas que j’suis pas là… Ben, ouin, si tu leur dis, là ils vont l’savoir..._ ”3

It was a fascinating experience to watch Jean juggle his heated conversation with his cooking. Cooking was one of those things Jean usually seemed to be able to do automatically. It calmed him down after a long day and he could concentrate on what he or Armin had to tell him. But right now there wasn’t anything gentle in the way he was stirring his spaghetti sauce, or loving in the way he was squeezing his phone between his ear and shoulder. Eren had never seen Jean this frustrated talking with anybody. Then again, he’d never seen him talk with his family.

“Ah, come on!” Jean exclaimed next, like whatever he’d heard on the other end of the line was the greatest injustice he could have been dealt. He rolled his eyes and gestured with his wooden spoon, spraying some sauce over the surface of the stove, which did nothing to improve his already foul mood, if his deepening frown told Eren anything. “ _S’t’une crisse de perte de mon temps d’y aller! … Non, n-non, c’pas ça, c’est pas ça j’voulais dire… Sacrament,M’man, c’est pas toi la perte de mon temps, c-c’est le mariage, c’est toute… Ben oui que j’t’aime… Ouin, j’comprends…_ Okay, fine _, donne moi quelque jours pour figurer tout ça, là, pis j’te reviens là-d’sus… Ouin… J’t’aime._ Okay. Okay, bye.” 4

Jean looked like he was about to just drop his phone on the floor, he looked so defeated. But instead he plucked it from his ear and slid it into his pocket with a deep sigh, followed by a few choice curses Eren hadn’t quite learned the meaning of yet.

Well, that had to have been the most uncomfortable Eren had been in a while. He observed Jean in silence from the couch, where he’d been the entire time. Jean couldn’t _not_ know he was there. They’d been talking just before he took the call. For the time being, though, he seemed perfectly content ignoring him. Just as well. Eren let him cool off, watched him clean up the mess he’d caused and return to a regular stirring pace. They both had a knack for getting under each other’s skin, and this was no time to add oil to the fire. So he let Jean’s cooking calm him down a bit, and thought of the best way to help with that.

Unfortunately, words weren’t really Eren’s strong suit. He was often too direct, too brash. Had no patience for bullshit or people’s anger. Talking it out was more Armin’s territory. Armin would have known what to say in a situation like this. He could have gotten to the heart of the matter with a sentence and comforted Jean with another. If Eren tried, he couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t piss him off before the first thought was completely out of his mouth.

There wasn’t any use in staying put, though. Jean was looking down into his pot, but Eren could see his mind wasn’t even in the same area code. So he got up and went over, and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s waist until he could rest his chin on his shoulder. Jean didn’t say anything, but Eren could immediately feel him relax. Off to a good start.

He thought of how Armin would handle something like this. He’d probably go with something caring, but he wouldn’t force Jean to tell him more than he was comfortable sharing, either. “You wanna talk about it?” he offered in the end. Simple, no judgement, no opinion. Putting the ball in his court. Safe.

Jean shrugged, but Eren felt it was more out of embarrassment than irritation. “My, uh, my mom wants me to go to this wedding back home. It’s her second cousin’s or something, some family member I don’t even know. I really don’t want to go.”

“All that fuss over a boring wedding?” Aaaaand, there it went. His foot met his mouth before he could even register the words that were coming out. _Better luck next time, Jaeger._

Jean stiffened visibly, and this time Eren figured it wasn’t because he was self-conscious over silly family nonsense. “It’s not about the wedding, man. Well, not all of it, okay. It’s just,” and here Jean deflated, frustration flowing out of him fast. If Eren read him right, he actually seemed insecure. “It’s just, I’m not the same person I was when I left, and I don’t want a bunch of strangers who only know me from what my mom’s told them to look at me through that lense, y’know?”

Eren nodded. He knew the feeling pretty well. After his mom’s death, his father’s colleagues and friends had treated him like he’d been made of glass even when he’d been on the mend and dealing, just because of how Grisha had interpreted his coping. But to Jean he simply replied, “Yeah, I get you.” 

“I’ve really changed since then. I think the whole dropping out of uni thing helped me see things from a new perspective. I was arrogant as fuck before I left, I thought I knew everything and that I was better than everyone because I had ‘big plans’ for myself, or whatever. Yeah, more than now, asshole,” Jean added with a light jab to Eren’s ribs for the chuckle he hadn’t kept quiet. “So, anyway. I don’t want to go back there and be reminded of what kind of fuckwit I was five years ago.”

“Can’t blame you. That would suck.”

“Thanks.”

“Well, hold on. The wedding might be a good time to show ‘em you did some growing up since moving here. You got a job and a future career all lined up, the only drugs you’re on are caffeine and weed, you’re in a good relationship---”

“Yeeaahh, see, that’s the other thing.” Jean started playing with his lip rings. Eren had picked up his nervous tells by now, and that one was never a good sign. “Actually, the main thing, really. I, uh, kind of didn’t mention that. You. I didn’t mention you, to my mom. She doesn’t know I’m dating you and Armin. And she _really_ wants me to bring a plus one, so….”

Oh. Ah. Well, that was the gist of it, wasn’t it? Jean had been this bothered by his mom’s phone call because he’d had to work around not dropping that bombshell on her accidentally. It made sense, until he did the math in his head.

“Wait a second,” Eren said as he pulled back a little. Jean turned around to look at him, leaning back against the stove so they were eye to eye. That just made it easier for Eren to see how uncomfortable he was, waiting for him to say his piece. “You haven’t told your mom yet? We’ve been dating a year!”

“You didn’t tell your sister until she found us fucking months after we got together!” 

_Back off, Jaeger, he’s getting defensive._ “Okay, that’s fair, but still! Don’t you think it’s about time??” _Shut up shut up shut up shut ---_

“Well, yeah, but how the fuck do you want me to bring this up?! ‘Hi Mom and every family member we know! Remember your straight son who left home to go to business school in the big city? Well, he dropped out, became a tattoo artist, and started dating two guys!’”

“Armin’s not a guy, you know that.” _Fucking focus for once!_

Judging by the look on his face, part taking a bite out of lemon, part repressing the urge to throttle him, it must have taken everything Jean had to swallow his next comment. His shoulders were so tense Eren could have broken a 2x4 across them if he’d had a mind to. Not that he wasn’t a little tempted right now, but that wouldn’t have helped. 

With his eyes closed -- probably to avoid staring straight at the cause of his frustration -- Jean tented his fingers in front of his face and took a deep long breath. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have said that. But try to understand, please. I didn’t hide this from my mom because I’m ashamed of you two. I just don’t know where to start.”

Eren could understand that. He hadn’t even needed to tell Mikasa or Grisha he and Armin had started dating, and when Jean joined them, he hadn’t had to either, for a totally different reason. He knew nothing about Jean’s mom either, which complicated things. What would bother her most about their relationship? Or would she be bothered at all?

Jean looked even more drained than before. He was rubbing his eyes with his fingers, now, like he was trying to push tears back behind his eyeballs. Eren grabbed his hand and reached behind him to hold him by the nape, bringing him closer until their foreheads touched. “I believe you,” he said, holding him close. It seemed whenever he let his mouth speak for him, some impulsive shit fell out and made a mess of everything. So he kept it simple and let his arms do the talking, rubbing Jean’s nape gently to show he wasn’t mad and felt like the biggest ass for pushing him.

He was really worried Jean would push him away, but in the end he sighed again and squeezed his hand, accepting the truce. “I really don’t know what to do. I don’t want to keep hiding. But I’m already not that close with my mom, and what if that does it? She could disown me over this.”

“Would she?”

“...Okay, maybe not. She’s never been outworldly homophobic around me, not that I can remember. But it would take time for her to come to terms with this. At least, I think. She thinks I only dated girls back home, so that plus the fact that there’s two of you would probably be hard for her to wrap her head around. And the wedding is only gonna give her ideas and encourage her to tell me to settle down soon. Plus she really wants grandchildren---”

“Okaaay, pause real quick. You’re getting waaay ahead of yourself,” Eren said. He pulled back enough to see Jean’s now red-rimmed eyes and gave him a somewhat watery, somewhat comforting smile. He shook his boyfriend by the shoulder a bit, trying to anchor him like he did for Armin when he too would start spiraling. “Stop thinking for a second.”

Jean gave a non-committal snort, but at least it was something. Eren soldiered on. If he could string together a couple more sentences without pissing Jean off, he could give himself a well-deserved pat on the back. “I get that you’re worried. I’m sorry I pushed you to tell your mom about Armin and me. You do what you feel is best, okay? Whatever you decide, you know we’re both gonna be there for you.”

Unless Eren was mistaken, that was relief on Jean’s face. _Oh my God. I just might have done it._

Jean leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. He was even smiling a little when he pulled back. “Thanks. I needed to hear that. You pushy bastard,” he added teasingly

It was Eren’s turn to smile. “I said I was sorry, okay? I figured it was better to do it than to live with the fear of it, you know? But I get that it doesn’t work in every context.”

“You read that in a book?”

“Audiobook. So? It’s still solid advice.”

They were interrupted by the pasta sauce nearly bubbling over. They went back to preparing dinner together in companionable silence disrupted only by playful hip bumps and lighthearted insults now and again. When Armin came back from classes Jean apprised him of the situation to get his take on everything over dinner. Eren was glad their boyfriend confirmed everything he’d already told Jean: it was his choice to make whether he told his mom or not, and they’d respect his decision. In the end, after much pacing and nervous playing with his snake bites, Jean opted to tell her. Eren and Armin learned that he wasn’t just dreading telling her about them, but about coming out to her, too. He’d been raised in a very small, very catholic town, and that sort of thing was never really brought up in polite company. To say they’d never seen him so tense was an understatement.

“I want you guys to be there. I want you to meet her, if that’s okay,” he said hesitantly after he got his laptop and booted up Skype. Eren instantly felt all his previous confidence melt, but Armin smiled and rubbed his back until he felt as ready as he’d ever be. 

“Of course. We’d love to meet her too.” 

With a small nod, Jean called his mom, and they waited. He seemed even more nervous than before, if that was possible, sitting alone on the other side of the table. Eren noticed he was bouncing his leg and stopped, since that decidedly couldn’t be helping Jean. He picked it up again seconds later while they listened to the dial tone, much cheerier than it had every right to be.

Finally she picked up. “ _Ça pas été long! Je pensais que ça te prendrait plus de temps que ça pour décider si tu viendrais ou pas._ ”5

Eren was surprised by how cheery Jean’s mother sounded, with just a hint of cheekiness. Of course she didn’t have a clue about what her son was gonna tell her. But her tone still seemed out of place. He glanced at Armin. He also seemed relaxed, or else he hid how uneasy he was pretty well. Eren for his part was jittery as all hell. Jean didn’t look much better either, but he at least put on a smile for his mom. He ran a hand through his tawny hair, like he was still searching for the right words, and cleared his throat loudly, as though the ones he found were trying to choke him.

“ _Ouin, moi aussi... M’man, faut que j’te dise quelque chose. Pis je sais pas comment tu vas le prendre._ ”6 Getting ready to tell her, if the reluctance in his voice said anything.

“ _Mon grand, je l’sais ce que j’t’ai dit tantôt, pis c’est correct si tu veux pas venir. J’aimerais vraiment ça tu viennes, parce’ ça fait longtemps que je t’ai pas vu, mais je comprends._ ”7 Her tone was pacifying, like she was telling him he didn’t have to go after all. She sounded like he had when he’d apologized earlier for pushing Jean to tell his mom about he and Armin. That seemed to soothe Jean’s nerves a little. He rallied and pressed on.

“ _N-Non, c’pas ça. J’veux venir. Pis… Pis j’veux pas venir tout seul. J’aimerais ça venir avec…_ ” He took a deep, shaky breath. “ _J’aimerais ça venir avec mes chums._ ”8

Jean looked down then, still running a hand back through his hair, waiting for the other shoe to drop. He’d told her, then. He was biting his lip piercings something fierce and it took Eren everything he had not to reach across the table and stop him himself, but they’d all agreed he and Armin wouldn’t interfere unless invited. Nonetheless, Eren shot Jean a small hopeful smile, which he returned, weakly.

Jean’s mom spoke up, seeming a bit confused, but otherwise not too bothered by the revelation her son had just dropped on her like a ton of bricks off his shoulders. “ _Ben, j’verrai pas pourquoi pas, mais t’es pas un peu vieux pour inviter tes amis à un truc en famille?_ ”9

She didn’t get it. He’d told her but she didn’t get what he’d meant. Jean looked like he was about to pass out. He was hiding the bottom part of his face in his hand, resting his elbow on top of the table, which seemed at the moment the only thing keeping him up. His face was red and his eyes were brimming with tears. Eren realized this might have been the first time he’d seen Jean so close to crying, twice in the same day.

He parted his fingers to speak. “ _Non, c’est pas mes amis, M’man. C’est mes chums. C’est,_ ” and he stopped, there, flexing his fingers and looking up like he was grasping for the right word to describe what they were to each other. “ _Y sont… Criss, y sont mes_ boyfriends, _M’man. J’sors avec deux gars. Ben, c’est compliqué, mais c’est plus ou moins ça. J’ai deux chums, pis j’voulais t’le dire avant que j’vienne au mariage, pis, pis c’est ça..._ ”10

Even though Eren could hardly understand a word of it, the way Jean let it all out like he was at his last confession made him believe he’d finally explained to his mom the most of it. He did get the “boyfriends” part, so that helped catch him up. Eren expected a long drawn out silence to follow, or perhaps some angry questioning or more ridiculous French swearing. Instead, he got a very nonchalant “ _Ah, ben, oui, c’est ben correct. M’a faire sûr qu’y’a assez de place dans le char._ ”11

Jean looked confused, and relieved, and worried, all at once. He crossed his arms on his chest and reclined a bit in his chair, obviously trying to parse through what his mom had told him. “ _T’es correct avec ça?_ ”12 he asked, a little doubtful if Eren judged by his tone and one raised eyebrow.

“ _Pourquoi je le serais pas? T’aimes qui que t’aimes. Pensais-tu sincèrement que j’allais te renier pour ça? Mon grand, le nombre de fois que je t’ai pogné donner des minouches en cachette à Marco au secondaire, y’a pas grand chose qui aurait pu me surprendre. Sont-tu légals, au moins, c’est chums-là?_ ”13

Whatever it was she said, it made Jean laugh so genuinely Eren almost jumped out of his chair. He hadn’t noticed how tightly wound he’d been until that moment, but it all went away with Jean’s laughter . Jean was wiping his eyes with his fist when he answered, a cough and a laugh caught halfway in his reply. “ _Oui, y sont légals, inquiète-toi pas._ ”14

“ _Est-ce qu’ils parlent français?_ ”15

Eren recognized the word “français”, so he assumed she was asking if they spoke French some. He knew he sure as hell didn’t, at least not enough to have a conversation with Jean’s family. He and Jean looked at each other apprehensively. Jean then turned to Armin, who nodded and leaned forward so he’d be heard clearly. “ _Un tout petit peu_ ,”16 he replied, and from the light chuckle coming from the laptop, that was enough to get in Jean’s mom’s good graces. Eren relaxed back in his chair with a relieved sigh.

“ _Tourne donc l’écran, Jean-François, j’veux les voir,_ ”17 Jean’s mother was saying, and Jean obliged her request with a smile matching how Eren felt. He turned the screen in his boyfriends’ direction.

He and his mom looked so alike it was uncanny. Their eyes crinkled the same when they smiled, and that made Eren immediately comfortable around her.

“ _Enchanté, Mme Kirstein. Je m’appelle Armin, et il s’appelle Eren._ 18 And, uh, I’m afraid that’s all I know in French,” Armin said with a nervous chuckle. Eren gave a little wave and as friendly a smile as he could muster after that rollercoaster. No way he was opening his mouth now and risk fucking it all up.

Jean’s mom was quick to reassure them both. “Dat’s quite alright, sweetie. I’m glad to meet you bof. And none of dat ‘Ms. Kirstein’, you’re family. Just call me Anne.” And she smiled wider, and her smile was the same as Jean’s, and her accent so close to how Jean’s had been when they’d first met, and how it sometimes was when he got distracted or tired. Needless to say, Eren felt immediately at ease around her, and wondered how in hell Jean could ever have been worried.

“So I’ll see you two at de wedding?”

Eren looked at Armin, who also seemed a tad surprised by that. Apparently he hadn’t caught much more of Jean’s conversation with his mom than he had. “I-I suppose you will. We still have to figure out the logistics, but yeah, we should be there,” Armin said, as tactfully as he could, while raising an eyebrow at Jean so high it disappeared completely behind his bangs, a look that said “So, you’re inviting us to a wedding, huh?”. Jean at least had the decency to look sheepish and shrugged.

Anne was all smiles on the laptop screen. “Well, I can’t wait to meet you for real. Take care of my boy until den. We can talk some more about all dat later. _Pis Jean-François_ ,” she added, and Armin turned the laptop around so it was facing Jean again. “ _Je t’aime. Okay? Je t’aime. Que t’aime les gars, les filles, les deux, ni l’un ni l’autre, ou que tu sortes avec ben du monde ou personne pantoute, peu importe. T’es mon enfant pis y’a rien qui va changer ça. C’est clair?_ ”19

“ _C’est clair_ ,”20 Jean replied, relieved and smiling. 

“ _Bon. On parlera de comment ça marche pour mes petits-enfants plus tard._ ”21

“ _Tabarnak, M’man!_ ”22 Jean exclaimed with a groan, and Eren was glad to see him blush up to his ears. It had to be a good sign he could still get embarrassed by his mother after all this, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation time!
> 
> 1\. “shut up, Eren”
> 
> 2\. “yes”, “no”, “again”, “don’t stop”
> 
> 3\. “Fucking hell*, it’s not the end of the world if I don’t go, Mom! I hardly know them… I don’t give a fuck if they’re your cousin twice removed, I still don’t know them! They won’t even notice I’m not there… Well, yeah, if you tell them, then they’ll know…”
> 
> 4\. “Ah, come on! Going’s a waste of my goddamn time! … No, n-no, that’s not it, that’s not what I meant… For fuck’s sake*, mom, you’re not a waste of my time, this wedding is, that’s all… Of course I love you… Yeah, I understand… Okay, fine, give me a few days to figure it out, and I’ll get back to you… Yeah… ‘Love you. Okay. Okay, bye.”
> 
> 5\. “That didn’t take long! I thought it’d take you longer to decide if you were coming or not.”
> 
> 6\. “Yeah, me too… Mom, I gotta tell you something. And I don’t know how you’re going to take it.”
> 
> 7\. “Honey, I know what I told you earlier, and it’s okay if you don’t want to come. I’d really like for you to come, since I haven’t seen you in so long, but I understand.”
> 
> 8\. “N-No, that’s not it. I want to come. And… And I don’t want to come alone. I’d like to come with…” “I’d like to come with my boyfriends**.”
> 
> 9\. “Well, I wouldn’t see why not, but aren’t you getting a little old to invite friends at a family gathering?”
> 
> 10\. “No, they’re not my friends, Mom. They’re my boyfriends**. They’re,” “They’re… Christ, they’re my _boyfriends_ , Mom. I’m going out with two guys. Well, it’s complicated, but that’s more or less it. I have two boyfriends**, and I wanted to let you know before I came to the wedding, and, and that’s it…”
> 
> 11\. “Ah, well, yeah, that’s okay. I’ll make sure there’s enough room in the car.”
> 
> 12\. “You’re okay with that?”
> 
> 13\. “Why wouldn’t I be? You love who you love. Did you sincerely think I was going to disown you over this? Honey, the number of times I caught you in high school sneaking around to kiss that Marco boy, there isn’t much that would have surprised me. Are they legal, at least, these boyfriends**?”
> 
> 14\. “Yeah, they’re legal, don’t worry.”
> 
> 15\. “Do they speak French?”
> 
> 16\. “A little bit,”
> 
> 17\. “Turn the screen around, Jean-François, I wanna see them,”
> 
> 18\. “A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Kirschtein. My name’s Armin, and his name’s Eren.”
> 
> 19\. “And Jean-François,” “I love you. Okay? I love you. Whether you like boys, girls, both, neither, or whether you’re going out with a lot of people or nobody at all, it doesn’t matter. You’re my child and nothing will ever change that. We’re clear?”
> 
> 20\. “We’re clear,”
> 
> 21\. “Good. We’ll talk about how this is working out for my grandchildren later.”
> 
> 22\. “Goddammit*, Mom!”
> 
> *a lot of Franco-Canadian swear words are just words taken directly from religious objects or figures (ex: tabarnak (slang-y spelling) = tabernacle). I’ve tried translating to their closest English equivalent, but it’s never 100%. What are you gonna do ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ If you’d like a quick lesson into our most common swear words, I suggest you check out this clip from a movie called “Bon Cop Bad Cop” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUGW0jszPzo 
> 
> **“chums” in French can be used both as “buddies” and “boyfriends”. When spoken by a man, the connotation implies it means “buddies”. When spoken by a woman, it’s understood to mean “boyfriends”. That’s heteronormativity for you!


End file.
